Fife business has online wine tasting success

Peter Wood, of the St Andrews Wine Company, used his connections and Facebook Live to help people experience the tasting sessions from the comfort of their own homes, and his videos have attracted over 1000 viewers.

He came up with the idea after the introduction of stricter drink driving laws in Scotland and after he noticed an increase in online sales from remote areas.

Peter will host his fourth session on July 19, from 7-7.45pm, along with Dale Clarke from Maison Williams Chase Wine.

He said: “People enjoy wine tasting but many don’t have wine merchants nearby, plus many of the smaller wineries don’t have the budget to fly experts up to Scotland to host events.

“We also have very strict drink driving laws in place, and rightly so, but it can be difficult for people to attend traditional wine events, particularly if they don’t have good public transport.

“I’d always wanted to do live tastings online but the technology wasn’t available until Facebook live launched.

“Now, people can buy the wine in advance, log on and enjoy learning from an expert with their friends or wine group in the comfort of their own home.”

Peter had help from Business Gateway Fife, and Lynne Bailey, adviser, explained why the videos had become such a success.

She said: “Peter has hit upon an idea that no other wine seller is currently pushing and that is why wine producers are clamouring to sign up for his live events – it costs them nothing to take part and provides them with direct access to customers.

“He is leading the way and embracing the internet to help grow his business and with our help has ensured his knowledge is up to date.

“Now, he is waiting to find out if St Andrews Wine Company will pick up the International Wine Challenge Regional Merchant of the Year for Scotland on July 6.”